A report funded by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) has emerged winner of the 2025 Ibanga Isine Impact Reporter Award.
The announcement was made on Friday, 5 December, 2025, during the dinner and Award Night of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Akwa Ibom State Council, held in Uyo.
The winning entry, titled “In Akwa Ibom, pregnant women, babies die due to poorly-equipped PHCs while the govt wastes billions,” was published by PREMIUM TIMES in September 2025.
Authored by Ekemini Simon, the investigation exposed how poorly staffed, ill-equipped and sometimes non-functional primary healthcare centres (PHCs) in Akwa Ibom State had forced many women to deliver at home or resort to unskilled birth attendants leading to avoidable deaths of mothers and newborns.
The report further revealed that several “model PHCs,” publicly commissioned by the State government, were locked, lacked personnel, had no basic equipment, or failed to operate at night.
Despite the state’s poor maternal and child health indicators, the investigation found that the administration of Governor Umo Eno had prioritised luxury vehicles for political elites, purchasing 13 SUVs worth about N1.3 billion for federal lawmakers, an amount health experts said could fund salaries for PHC workers for years.
Barely 48 hours after the report was published, the Akwa Ibom State government announced that Governor Eno had declared a state of emergency in the health sector.
The directive included upgrading medical facilities, reopening of the state’s recruitment portal, and engaging 2,000 health workers, this time without the previously controversial requirement for applicants to submit their Voters Identification Number (VIN).
The Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umanah, noted that the Council directed upgrades of health training institutions, fresh enrollment and training of healthcare professionals, and the engagement of retired but willing medical personnel on a contract basis.
A 12-member inter-ministerial steering committee chaired by the Commissioner for Health, Ekem Emmanuel, was also constituted to drive implementation.
Honouring Ibanga Isine’s legacy
The Ibanga Isine Impact Reporter Award, endowed by Utibe Ukim, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of XL Communications Limited, carries a cash prize of N500,000.
The prize honours renowned investigative journalist Ibanga Isine, whose accolades include the 2015 CNN Multichoice African Journalist of the Year Award and the 2019 Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting.
His body of work includes groundbreaking investigations into corruption among security operatives, sanctioned killings in Southern Kaduna, and military linked violence at a Dangote cement plant in Benue State.
The award, which debuted in 2023, has now been presented twice, both times to Mr Simon.
Presenting the prize, Mr Ukim praised Mr Simon’s consistency and commitment to accountability journalism.
“Society collapses when journalists see nothing and say nothing,” he said, urging reporters to continue speaking truth to power.
About CJID
The Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) is a West African media innovation and development think tank.
READ ALSO: CJID celebrates journalists in second edition of Excellence in Journalism Awards 2025
Established in Nigeria in 2014 as the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ), the organisation has worked on investigative reporting, media innovation, open data, fact-checking, journalists’ safety, elections, and issues relating to freedom of information and expression.
In 2020, CJID expanded its work beyond Nigeria to Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia, and later extended activities into parts of Francophone Africa, including Cameroon, Senegal and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
